What is a good practice routine for a beginner guitarist?Start with structure, a metronome, and realistic daily goals — even 20 focused minutes beats hours of aimless noodling. Use a metronome always SpeedStar's two golden rules: aim for accuracy and always use a metronome 1. Start at a "boredom" tempo where nothing goes wrong, then build up gradually 1. cain suggests starting 20 beats below your comfort speed, nudging up in small steps, and stopping the moment your playing turns "dirty" 1. Divide your time arjunmenon, our Practice Sensei, builds his sessions around clear, realistic goals per segment — scales and chords, ear training, and short easy reading pieces you can finish in 10 minutes, stepping up only when you succeed 2. Warren, our Theory Whisperer, warns you can't improve everything at once: warm up first, then focus on just a few areas like alternate picking, legato and chords 3. Short on time? A simple one-hour split works: a few minutes each on scales, licks, tabs, improvising, play-along and ear training 5. Learn real songs Pick a song you love that's not too hard — learn the whole thing, solos included, so you get the nuances, not just the notes 5. V8's beginner song list thread has ten easy tunes with chords and videos to get you playing real music fast 7. Track your progress Record yourself when you start and again when frustrated — the difference will keep you motivated 3. Keep a simple log (date, exercise, start and end metronome speeds) so you can see improvement; anything measured improves 3. The consensus across the threads: mindful, structured practice beats mindless hours, and small daily wins keep you coming back 4. From these forum threadsYour practice routine (2009): SpeedStar's metronome rules and slow-to-fast speed methodDescribe your practising regime? (2011): Arjun's goal-based session breakdown with reading tipsPractice, practice... ooh squirrel... (2011): Warren on tracking metronome speeds and recording progressWhat's the result of daily 6-8 hour practice in a year? (2018): Forum advice on structured practice vs mindless hoursHow do you make practice more interesting ? (2010): A simple one-hour practice split for busy players10 Beginner Guitar Songs That Are Easy and Fun to Play (2019): Ten easy beginner songs with chords and videos
